So We Got Some Bees

The last few months here have been rather crazy, having one thing after another thing happen.

In the middle of all of this insanity in May we got a hold of someone locally selling 'nukes' (the center part of bee hives that contain workers, some honey, and eggs.)  From the nukes the new hive can be started.

We installed the nukes in hives on my parents farm near the chestnut trees so they would get more pollination for the trees.

The bees seemed to have settled in over time and filled out the boxes to the point we needed to get them a super, so last week we did.


Below are two unpainted 10 frame super boxes.  We'd just gotten them together when I took the photos.

 

And painted.  They are painted white and drying in the sun.  The hives need to be painted to help protect the wood.  The most common color is white though I've seen them in various colors before.

 

Some of the frames together and in the box they will sit when it's fully together.  And below a single frame outside of the book so you can see what they look like on their own.

 

And a frame with the foundation on it, ready to be put into the box and added onto what is now the brood chamber of the box.  We use wax foundations in our hives for a few reasons but one is when we decide to harvest honey (from another super we'll add next year) we'll be able to sell on the comb honey.

 

The next step is simply to take the boxes to the super and open the hives (my husband did a hive inspection since he had them open) then add the boxes on top of the other, put the lid on, and let the bees work their magic.  My husband told me the bees were a bit upset when he started to mess with the hives, but as soon as he added the new supers they flew back inside and investigated them.  (I didn't go with him to the hives because I'm allergic to bee stings.)

A Few Chicken pictures

I took a few pictures of the birds this past Easter Sunday and since they came out okay I figured I'd share them here.

 

Out in the back yard in the still not cut grass having a snack.  I've been asked if I free range my chickens, which yes I do.  They are much happier being out in the yard instead of locked up in pens.  Plus they help keep the ticks under control so I don't need to worry about getting attacked by creepy crawlers when I go outside to do farm work.

 

And (below) my silver laced rooster, standing pretty in the wind.  He's in the area right in front of the coop where the chickens have already eaten all of the grass this spring.  One other advantage to free ranging, they keep some of the grass cut for me.

Bees and some trees

I suppose one minor advantage of taking an interest in bee keeping a few years ago and starting the learning process has been that I've been slowly taking note of what the bees love and what the bees tend to avoid.  Right now we've got a number of trees flowering (I'm in fact watching bees hit the peach tree outside of my kitchen window now.)  We actually have a wild hive of honey bees somewhere on the farm, so we've been able to interact with bees ever since we've moved in.  I don't actually know where the hive is but that hasn't stopped me from referring to them as 'my bees' when I talk to people (I explain they're wild and not the hives we're getting that we will be harvesting from.)

I've been keeping an eye on what the bees love, and what surprised me the most is boxwood.  We have a large bush of it by the front porch, and a smaller one near the other end of the porch and every year as soon as it starts to flower it seems to come alive with the sound of bees buzzing.  This year I'd actually started to worry cause I hadn't seen the bees since we got a cold snap but as soon as it started to flower I woke up to the sound of happy bees.

I haven't really seen the bees working anything other then the flowering crab apples and peach trees yet this year, though I suspect they already hit the ceder trees before the box woods started.

In June, from past years observations, the bees also go nuts over chestnut flowers.  The chestnuts seem to come alive every year with bees, and other pollinators grabbing as much pollen as they can in the few weeks the trees are covered in blossoms.

A Few Bee Friendly Plants

This is not mine, I found it online but it has a easy to look at chart for anyone who's looking to do spring planting and needs plant ideas.  For bees always make sure your plants are from organic sources (organic seeds or organic green houses.)  Non-organic plants have been sprayed with chemicals as they were grown in green houses and those chemicals can hurt the bees.  Even if you live in a city and only have a tiny window garden you can still help out and put in a plant or two, the bees will thank you.

 

Side note: Poppy are listed here as Annuals, but they do come back every year from their root base as well as from the seeds they spread around.

Happy New Year's

This is a minor change of pace, but happy New Year's everyone.

Here's to achieving our dreams in the new year (and doing our dreaming with our eyes open.)

Rouen Pekin mix Ducky Pictures

Slightly late putting these up, but I did promise them so here they are.

These are my Pekin/Rouen mix duckies. 

Blow pictured is my baby who didn't finish feathering out yet, with one of the 5 month old ones.  She's about two months younger then the other two ducks in the photo.

Below are taken several months later, everyone is feathered out and starting to look like adults.

 

 

It turned out I hatched out three black and white mixed duckies, two girls and one drake luckily. On my drake he has the green head of the Rouen and looks stunning in the sunlight.  One other one is a mix as well but she just has a cute little band around her neck as if she's wearing a choker. I'm going to keep the drake with his sisters and half sisters and see what interesting color combinations I get in the spring. (And yes this is okay to do, it's called line breeding, only this group will be bred together and there is an unrelated drake in their pen as well.  Their parents are all unrelated as well so genetically there should be no issues.)

Lets Build a Bee Bed (garden) Part 1

So I was thinking about it last night after my other post and I thought maybe it would be a fun and good idea to do a few blog posts about putting in a bee garden.  Some people when they put in flowers for bees put in ones bees don't like or have issues getting food from, I figured why not do a series of posts that go into a nice healthy, happy bee garden.  This will include steps from going to nothing to putting in plants and will include bee friendly plants.  This is also going to be an eatable garden, meaning everything in it will be safe to eat (who knows, some stuff may surprise you.)

Now this bed is going to be as organic as possible.  I'm not going to say 100% organic but it will be as close as possible.

First off lets find a place for your bed.  Walk around your yard and pick a spot that you wouldn't mind digging up and putting in some flowers/herbs.  It can be as close to your house or as far away as possible (just keep in mind it will draw bees so if your allergic away from your house may be a good idea.)  When picking your spot be sure to look up and see what trees are over head.  We're in the fall now so keep in mind come spring if there are trees over head they will make an area that looks sunny now into a shady spot.  For the bed we're putting in now full sun to partial shade is idea.  Pick a spot that gets a few hours of sun a day.  Ideally for this bed your spot should be 5 foot by 5 foot to 8 foot by 8 foot (mine is 8 foot by 10 foot.)

Once you have your spot picked out we're going to start building the bed.  No digging is required right now so don't worry about that.  We're going to use composting to make dirt.  If you have newspapers or old cardboard boxes take them and spread them around on the ground where your bed will be.  You can also use old pizza boxes for this layer.  All of the grass or dirt in your new bed should be covered by paper/card board.  This is important, do not use any paper or cardboard that is coated with the shiny paint or is shiny paper.  This is bad for the soil and the worms that will make their home in your future garden.  Stick to non coated, not shiny materials. 

Once you get this layer down add your garden bed walls.  This can be anything from wood (make sure it's not treated) to bricks, rocks, I use fencing on some of mine because of my birds.  I also use old wood to line the inner wall of my beds and bricks on the outside.  Build your wall to whatever height you want.

Now that the walls are done we're ready to start filling it in with composable materials, chances are you already have a great start to your bed in your house right now.  If you drink tea or coffee start saving your leaves, bags, grounds, and filters.  Worms love all of this and it makes great soil.  Egg shells are also loved in soil, as are left overs from veggies, fruits, sea food.  All of this can be saved in a plastic ice cream bucket and if it's dumped daily it doesn't make any smells.  So what else can be dumped in there since we have so much to fill up before spring?  Well most people know the common things, leaves chopped up, grass clippings, general outdoor mulch.  You can also add things like shavings from rabbits if you clean their pens or other pets like that, mice, birds; do not use cat, dog, or any other carnivore's droppings, they can contain pathogens and since we're going to be snacking on our bed with the bees we don't want that in there.  Okay so what else?  Any kitchen left overs are great for it as long as it's not meat or blood.  You'll hear people disagree on this, but using meat/blood in a compost bed can draw in scavengers such as racoons, skunks, possums or even outdoor cats that may dig up the beds.  Other odd things? People hair, as long as it's not treated, sweepings from the floor as long as you don't use flea powder or pesticides, the same as pet hair not treated, coffee carriers you get from fast food places (as long as their not shiny), news papers ripped up or shredded can be added as well to this layer.  The key will be to have a mixture of stuff in there, so it will break down nicely and provide our herbs with food when we put them in.

A few hints for finding biodegradable matter, if you live near coffee shops you can ask them for their coffee grounds.  I know some people give them a bucket to dump them in and collect them daily.  If you live in a town that collects leaves you can ask the town if you can have some of the chopped up leaves. If you don't get newspapers you can ask your local recycling center for a bundle or two.  And don't forget about asking your friends for their composable stuff!

A minor side note, while doing this don't use herbicide around the bed or on your property.  If you need to kill weeds that can't be killed by pulling or smothering with mulch make a white vinegar and water spray solution and cover the offending weeds with that.  Its safer for the bees.